Friday Faves: My personal picks of (mostly) unpublished images from the archive…

Friend Cydney paddling on the Little Miami River during a youth canoe trip - summer 2005.

Cheap cameras are fun. In 2004 I bought a Holga toy camera and started messing around with it. Outdoors, in the studio, and in places just for fun. It is also a great camera to take into situations you may not want your $5000+ camera to be – like in a canoe that is likely to capsize…

One of the best things about the Holga is its unpredictable nature. You take broad guesses at exposure and focus when using it. In capable hands it produces great results, but with a high margin of error.

There’s nothing socially spectacular about this image. It was taken on a youth canoe trip I was chaperoning. The day was idyllic, calm and warm. The kids were having a blast. The adults were relaxing.

Sometimes work in the church is hectic and frantic. Sometimes people are extremely/overly emotional about little things and I’m sure they are things about which they care a great deal. But sometimes work in a faith community involves sharing a peaceful day lazily floating down a river with 20 kids – refreshing yourself and showing the youth what life away from the hectic school/activity world looks like.

Like the Holga’s unpredictability, a life of faith involves venturing into the unknown, pushing through doubt to realize an incredible result. The instant feedback of my digital SLR does not inspire such faith-taking moves nor does easy answers to life’s difficulties.

Camera – Holga 120N with Arisa 100 film developed in Kodak HC-110.